Investigators said Muni Savyon, 54, shot and killed his 9-year-old son, Joshua, during a supervised visit at the Manchester YWCA. He then killed himself. A counselor in the room escaped without injury.

The entrance to the YWCA has become something of a shrine to Joshua. His mother went there Sunday morning to pick up her son after visiting with his father, but she never got as far as the door. She was stopped by police, and instinctively called the attorney who had been trying to help protect her son from his father's threats.

"She knew that shots were fired and that her son was inside," said attorney David Bailinson. "She didn't know anything else, and it was the worst nightmare coming true."

Joshua would've started the fourth grade at Wilkins Elementary School in Amherst in a few weeks.

"He was charming, playful, active and was involved in martial arts as an activity, and that was really his big passion," Bailinson said. "He was very outgoing, hugging his mom, very playful and a happy, healthy young man."

Joshua's mother and Savyon were never married, but Bailinson said she encouraged him to know his father.

"She doesn't have a bad bone in her body," Bailinson said. "She's a sweet, loving mom dedicated to her son first and foremost. A stay-at-home mom, as they say, and her life was her son."

Last year, Savyon was accused of making threats about his son. On March 29, 2012, Savyon met his son's mother in Nashua for a doctor's visit for the boy. The boy's mother told officials said that Savyon was upset about custody arrangements, telling her he bought and gun and that, "It's going to be either you or Josh and I."

"He's made threats in the past to harm himself, his son and his son's mother, and unfortunately, he carried through with that," said Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin.

Savyon was charged with domestic-violence-related criminal threatening as a result of that incident. The complaint was placed on file without a finding in July 2012.

Images: Man kills son at Manchester YWCA

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WMUR

Man, child found dead at Manchester YWCA

A man shot and killed his son before turning the gun on himself at the YWCA in Manchester on Sunday morning, police said.

The day after the confrontation at the doctor's appointment, according to court records, the child's mother filed for a restraining order, saying Savyon told her he had "snapped."

"I am afraid for the safety of me and my son," she wrote in the application.

That petition was granted in May 2012, and in the final order, a judge ruled that Savyon was not to possess any firearms and "shall complete anger management evaluation in an attempt to assess dangerousness."

"I cross-examined him at the domestic violence hearing, and I said, 'You have guns, don't you?'" Bailinson said. "He said, 'No.' I said, 'Then why do you have those earphones that they use at firing ranges in your house?' And he said, 'I use them when I vacuum.'"

Bailinson said he doesn't think authorities searched Savyon's home for guns.

"And in the future. we hope that when somebody gets served with a domestic violence restraining order, that the police actually search for weapons," he said. "That's a change that we hope can come out of this horrible tragedy."

Autopsy results released by the attorney general’s office on Monday night confirmed the father and son died in a murder-suicide. Joshua Savyon’s death has been ruled a homicide. The medical examiner said his father’s death was a suicide from a single gunshot to the head.

Joshua's school is setting up grief counseling services for students and staff.

AUTOPSY RESULTS RELEASED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE CONFIRMED A FATHER AND SON DIED IN A MURDER-SUICIDE AT THE Y DEBUSSY A. JOSHUA WAS SHOT AWFUL TIMES. HIS FATHER COST DEATH WAS A SUICIDE FROM A SINGLE GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD. THE NINE- YEAR-OLD HAAS FAMILY SAID HE WAS A HAPPY AND OUTGOING BOY AND LOVED MARTIAL ARTS. HE WAS KILLED DURING A SUPERVISED VISIT WITH HIS FATHER. THE STATE IS JUST BEGINNING ITS INVESTIGATION INTO HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN. LIVE AT THE YWCA TONIGHT. THE STATE WILL LIKELY CONVENE A FATALITY REVIEW BOARD. THIS IS TO STUDY WHAT WENT WRONG AND HOW JOSH WAS -- JOSHUA'S DEATH COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED. SUNDAY INSIDE A ROOM AT THE YWCA , HE WAS HAVING ONE OF THOSE VISITS WITH HIS 9 --YEAR-OLD SON JOSHUA. MUNI AND WAS AGITATED OVER CUSTODY AND SAID, I HAVE A GUN, IT IS EITHER YOU OR ME AND JOSHUA. THE FATHER WAS SUPPOSED TO HAND OVER ANY GUNS AND CLAIMED HE DID NOT HAVE ANY. THE BOY'S MOTHER ARRIVED TO PICK HIM UP AND WAS STOPPED OUTSIDE. HER LIFE WAS HER SON. AND PROTECTING HIM. A COUNSELOR IN THAT SUPERVISED VISIT ESCAPED. THE YWCA SAID IT WILL REVIEW ITS OWN SECURITY PROCEDURES LIKE WHY A METAL DETECTION WAND WAS NOT USED. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAPPENS WE ARE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. SCOTT HAMPTON RUNS A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGENCY AND WORKS ON THE COMMISSION ON DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE. HE SAID THE FIRST STEP IS UNDERSTANDING WHY IT HAPPENED. THEY CANNOT ALWAYS BE BLAMED ON ANGER, UNTIL ILLNESS, DRUGS, OR ALCOHOL BUT A WIDER BELIEF SYSTEM. AND INFLATED SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT AND PRIVILEGE THAT SAYS I ON THESE PEOPLE AND IF THEY DO NOT DO I -- WHAT I WANT I HAVE A RIGHT TO PUNISH THEM. I THINK THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TWO DEAD PEOPLE IN MANCHESTER. ON THE STEPS, A MEMORIAL TO JOSHUA. INVESTIGATORS WILL STUDY EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THAT ROOM. THEIR FINDINGS WILL BE PART OF THE REVIEW BOARD WHICH CAN RECOMMEND CHANGES TO HOPEFULLY